-->

Coping with COVID: New COVID-19 test uses saliva, provides quicker results at lower cost

A new test that has been developed in Kansas City by the Stowers Institute shows to be faster and cheaper compared to other testing methods, and hopes to relieve the backlog of collected samples waiting to be examined.

The Stowers Institute for Medical Research has recently developed a new testing method to detect COVID-19 in people by using saliva samples.

Although it has only just emerged, the new process has already shown to be faster in providing results and at a lower cost.

Dr. David Chao, president and CEO at Stowers Institute in Kansas City, says the institute’s new test uses saliva instead of nasal swabs, which have been in short supply, according to reporting by Fox 4 News.

Over the last few months, volunteers with Stowers Institute have worked to develop the saliva test which uses robotic machines to automatically determine test results, reports Fox 4.

Researchers say they can test 500 samples a day accurately while reducing costs by two or three times what labs charge now.

With a sped-up testing process, testing facilities planning to invest in the necessary equipment are hopeful that the current backlog of samples waiting to be viewed can quickly be eliminated with the use of the new saliva test and its machinery.

Stowers Institute says it plans to seek an emergency use authorization for its test from the federal Food and Drug Administration within the next month, reports Fox 4, but before allowing the process to be widely used would also like to form an agreement with Jackson County to provide the research center immunity from liability.